The present invention relates to cathodes, and in particular to an edge strip for a cathode plate.
The use of cathode plates in metal deposition processes, and particularly for copper, is well known. During the process metal particles are deposited on either side of the cathode plate. During removal the plate is flexed to loosen the material and it is desirable to protect at least the two side edges of the plate so that material does not accumulate around the side edges to inhibit the removal of the metal. One known method of protecting the edge during this process is to coat the edge with a layer of wax. This procedure has been found to be labor intensive, messy and unreliable. Cracks in the wax allow bridging of the metal between the two sides and fresh application of wax is required after each use. It is therefore necessary to have large quantities of wax available for use.
To combat some of these problems an edging strip was developed which was placed around the edge of the plate and attached by way of pins through holes in the plate and the edge strip. However, this process was also highly labor intensive and required skill to locate and line up the corresponding holes in the edge strip and plate. Bridging also occurred between the hole in the plate and the pin. It has been proposed to utilize an inflatable edge strip which when pressurized would clampingly grip the side walls of the plate. However, that method was found to be ineffective and costly.